A Donna Reborn: No Longer a Substitute

Over the next few days, Riccardo didn't speak to me. But he also stopped bringing up the apology.

He came home on time every day, bringing back food he knew I liked. Yet, he always spent the night in the living room.

I knew he was struggling internally, but that no longer had anything to do with me.

It was December 13th. There were only two days remaining until my departure.

I packed up all my belongings, preparing to go handle the divorce proceedings.

In my past life, I remembered that Riccardo would be targeted in an assassination attempt around this time. Even though he'd ultimately survive, he'd sustain serious injuries.

I hesitated for a long time but ultimately decided to warn him.

After all, even if he didn't love me, we had once shared a marriage in name.

I took a taxi to the alley near the family headquarters, the very place where the assassination would occur.

From a distance, I spotted a man in a black trench coat and mask creeping up behind Riccardo with a silenced pistol in his hand.

"Riccardo, look out!" I shouted, rushing forward and grabbing the man's wrist.

The man froze for a moment, startled by my sudden appearance.

Riccardo reacted immediately, spinning around and subduing the man.

A stray bullet grazed my arm, and blood flowed instantly.

"Dalia!" Riccardo's face went pale at the sight of my wound.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, fear still in his voice.

"I…" I hesitated, but ultimately couldn't bring myself to say it. "I was just passing by."

Back at the manor, Riccardo looked at my wound, his eyes reddening.

"How could you be so foolish? What if something had happened to you?"

"As long as you're safe, that's what matters," I replied softly.

We were even now. In my past life, he'd avenged me. In this life, I'd saved his life.

Riccardo took my hand and said resolutely, "Dalia, I'll cherish you for the rest of my life."

I pulled my hand back without responding.

Late at night, I heard Riccardo on the phone with someone in the hallway.

"She's more like family to me. There's only familial affection, no romantic love. Love can't be forced. Just because she saved me doesn't mean I can fall in love with her."

I leaned against the door, my heart completely calm. I'd known the answer all along, but hearing it with my own ears still felt somewhat ironic.

The next morning, I tucked the signed divorce papers between a stack of documents and handed them to Riccardo.

"These are the contracts that have piled up recently. Please sign them."

Perhaps out of trust, Riccardo didn't even flip through them and signed each one without a second glance.

After signing, he handed me a black bank card.

"You've lost weight lately. Go buy yourself something nutritious."

I understood that Riccardo didn't want to owe me anything. That was why he was giving me an unlimited black card as repayment for saving his life.

I never expected that when it came to settling debts, he and I would be so perfectly in sync.

I took the card and turned around to leave.

On December 15th, Riccardo's birthday, I wrote a letter and placed it on the living room table, along with the black bank card.

"Riccardo,

"I'm leaving. I know you don't love me, and that the one you love is Alice. In my past life, after I died, I saw you avenge me. I thought you had feelings for me, so after being reborn, I chose to marry you.

"Now I see it was just wishful thinking on my part. Even so, you shouldn't have deceived me, let alone led me into this sham of a marriage. You sicken me even more than Marco does.

"Still, we're even now. You helped collect my remains in my past life, and I saved you from an assassination attempt in this one. From this point on, we owe each other nothing.

"This is goodbye.

"Dalia."

After finishing writing the letter, I dragged my suitcase out of the manor without looking back.